PARIS, November 1, 2018

It was an action-packed Thursday line-up at the Rolex Paris Masters with 13 of the 16 seeds on the schedule. The tournament’s No. 5 Marin Cilic opened the day against No. 9 seed Grigor Dimitrov, who won last year’s Nitto ATP Finals crown in London. Cilic won 7-6(5), 6-4 and is guaranteed a spot in London if he reaches the semi-finals this week.

After Novak Djokovic had benefited from the retirement of Damir Dzumhur leading 6-1, 2-1, No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev edged past the tournament’s No. 15 Diego Schwartzman, who won the only previous meeting in 2014 Kitzbühel. The 21-year-old German saved all four break points he faced, converting three of his own to secure a 6-4, 6-2 win in one hour and 21 minutes. Next up will be Karen Khachanov.

In the final day session match, 11th seed Borna Coric failed to level his 1-2 head-to-head record against No. 6 seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem, who is trying to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the third straight year. Thiem rallied past the Croat 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5 in two hours and 28 minutes.

In the evening session, third favourite Roger Federer extended his head-to-head advantage against No. 13 seed Fabio Fognini to 4-0. Both players received walkovers into the round of 16 when their opponents withdrew due to injury. Federer secured a comfortable 6-4, 6-3 victory, seeking the 100th title of his career after capturing his hometown title in Basel on Sunday.

Roger that!

✌️@rogerfederer eases past Fabio Fognini 6-4 6-3 to book his spot in the #RolexParisMasters quarter-finals. pic.twitter.com/WFVPuY18Q1

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) 1. November 2018

In the final match, No. 7 Kevin Anderson and No. 10 seed Kei Nishikori met for the second time in four days. On Sunday, Anderson won 6-3, 7-6 in the Vienna final. This time, however, Nishikori emerged victorious without facing a break point, winning 6-4, 6-4. The encounter lasted one hour and 20 minutes.